The Robert E. Lee Military Academy Scandal – Part Two Last week we heard the story of a small legal problem experienced by a just-opened military academy in La Crescenta. In late 1929, the Robert E. Lee Military Academy had just opened on the corner of Foothill and Rosemont, where Foster’s Donuts is today. […]
The Robert E. Lee Military Academy Scandal – Part One It’s hard to believe that La Crescenta had its own military academy, let alone one named for one of the opposing generals of our Civil War. Yet it was true. And a minor incident there spurred a scandal that attracted national attention. The story starts […]
Perry Whiting’s Ugly Divorce Perry Whiting was the original owner of what we now know as Whiting Woods and is its namesake. He got part of the oak-covered canyon in the Verdugo Mountains at auction around 1916, after a house of prostitution was closed down there. He originally intended to flip the property but […]
The Helen Eaton House – Rebuilt after the 1908 Fire One good result of the big fire of 1908 was the beautiful Helen Eaton House at 2620 Foothill Blvd. The Eaton House is the two-story yellow Victorian that is home to New Star Realty and a taekwondo studio. It is fronted by a giant […]
The Big Wildfire of 1908 – Part 3 The late summer fire had burned nearly the entire floor of the Crescenta Valley in just a few hours. Amazingly, thanks to a large volunteer force, only four ranches were consumed, but many orchards and vineyards were damaged. The fire raged through the mountains for several […]
The Big Wildfire of 1908 – Part 2 Last week we covered the beginning of this massive late-summer wildfire that swept the valley floor of La Crescenta. It had started about noon in the southwest of the valley, near today’s CV Park. It swept northwest and west, across the sagebrush-covered future Montrose. Fickle winds […]
Back-to-back Wildfires – 1907 and 1908 Our valley has always been beset by wildfires. Before the land was covered with streets and buildings it was covered in sagebrush, which naturally burns with regularity. Before the valley was built-out as it is today, fires would sweep across the valley. Isolated houses and ranches were defended […]
Montrose Bowl’s More Recent History Recounting the history of the opening of the Montrose Bowl has been really fun! I was contacted by the current owner of the Montrose Bowl, Bob Berger. Bob gave me his family’s history at the bowling alley, along with some great news: They’re beginning to reopen! Bob writes: “I […]
Montrose Bowl – ‘Bowl For Beauty’s Sake’ There was a lot of hype and hucksterism around the opening of the Montrose Bowl in 1940. Our local paper, The Ledger, dedicated an entire issue to its opening exactly 80 years ago. Many of the ads and articles are fascinating as time capsules of a different […]
Montrose Bowl – ‘Bowl For Beauty’s Sake’ There was a lot of hype and hucksterism around the opening of the Montrose Bowl in 1940. Our local paper, The Ledger, dedicated an entire issue to its opening exactly 80 years ago. Many of the ads and articles are fascinating as time capsules of a different […]